Bereavement of immediate family

In determining whether a client has an exceptional circumstance for not completing the reapplication process before their expiry date on the grounds of bereavement, the client must have experienced a bereavement of an immediate family member during their notice period which affected their ability to reapply.

Immediate family, for the purposes of exceptional circumstances, are:

• parents (including step-parents and foster parents)
• grandparents (including grandmother and grandfather)
• children (including grandchildren, stepchildren, foster children, mokopuna - those grandchildren who have been raised by the grandparents as the principal caregivers, and whāngai - children who have been raised, normally by a relation or other person within the wider whānau to which the child belongs) and
• siblings (including half siblings and step siblings, but excluding members of organisations/gangs referring to themselves as 'blood brothers and sisters')

MSD may require the client to provide evidence of the bereavement. In most cases the client should just be asked to sign a personal statement.

In some cases clients may also be asked to provide further evidence, this could include:

• a death certificate
• a newspaper notice
• an online obituary which clearly shows the date of death
• birth certificate showing relationship to deceased
• confirmation of the death from the lawyer who is administering the estate or from the minister or funeral director

If the client has been granted a Funeral Grant for their dependent child, they should not be asked to provide evidence again.

For more information see: